1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments described herein generally relate to a disconnect device for use in a wellbore. More particularly, the embodiments relate to a selectively actuated disconnect device. More particularly still, the embodiments relate to a selectively detachable and reattachable disconnect device adapted to transfer torque to a downhole tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the drilling, completion, and operation of a hydrocarbon well, various wellbore components are inserted and removed from a wellbore on a lower end of a tubular string. Wellbore components include packers (to seal off production zones), motors, pumps, sensors, sliding sleeves (to control flow of fluid in and out of production tubing), hydraulically set liners (for lining during cementing of casing), whipstocks (to divert drill bit while drilling), valves, cement shoe assemblies, and drill bits.
As wellbore components are delivered and removed from a wellbore, the components or the tubular string they are attached to may become stuck in the wellbore. The problem may be exacerbated by complex wellbore geometries or previously existing obstructions in the wellbore. To permit a conveyance to be separated from a stuck component, disconnect devices are placed at intervals in the drill string. A disconnect device is a component that can be selectively separated into two portions. For example, a disconnect device disposed in a string of tubulars can permit the string to be separated and the lower part left in the wellbore for accessibility by fishing tools. Likewise, a disconnect device disposed between the end of a tubular string and a wellbore component, like a drill bit, permits the selective removal of the string of tubulars if the bit should become stuck.
Conventional pull type disconnects utilize shear pins or other frangible or soluble components to temporarily couple a first and second portion of the disconnect device together. Shear pins are designed to fail when they are subjected to a force, such as a tensile or compressive force developed across the pins. When a wellbore component is stuck and a disconnect device is disposed in a tubular string near the component, an upward force applied from the surface can cause the shear pins of the disconnect device to fail, permitting the string to be removed from the wellbore. After the tubular string is retrieved to the surface, a fishing tool is used to manipulate the stuck wellbore component.
Shear pins are sized and numbered based upon the shear force needed to operate a disconnect device. While they have been used as temporary connections in wellbores for years, shear pins have limitations. For example, forces other than the intended force may prematurely cause the shear pins to shear, thus making them unreliable. Because the shear pins can shear prematurely, additional fishing operations may be required to retrieve the prematurely disconnected wellbore component, leading to lost production time. For example, shear pins can shear prematurely when a slide hammer bangs on a shifting tool in order to shift the sliding sleeve or when a jarring device is used to dislodge a component.
Therefore, there is a need for a more reliable disconnect device for use in a wellbore. There is a further need for a disconnect device that can be selectively detached and reattached and transfer torque to a component.